Dems Attack Corbett at City Hall Health-Care Rally

The health-care debate is still far from over (even though President Obama signed the bill two weeks ago): U.S. Reps. Chaka Fattah and Bob Brady held a rally Tuesday at City Hall to protest Attorney General Tom Corbett’s lawsuit that questions the legislation’s legality.

Corbett is running for governor, in case you didn’t know, and Dems hope to use health care—and the lawsuit—against him.
M. Nutt also appeared at Tuesday’s rally, which attracted about 50 people, including PhillyNow. (That’s quite a turnout.)

“The argument is that we shouldn’t be fighting something that’s now been passed by Congress, signed by the president. There’s a critical health-care need for all Pennsylvanians and all Americans,” the mayor says.

But when asked about Corbett’s main beef with the bill—that it is unconstitutional for Washington to force citizens to purchase health insurance (or else pay a fine)—the hizzoner looked confused: “Well, I think there’s an option where you can opt out of that. There’s a part, I think, that says you don’t have to have health care.”

He thinks.

How can he speak out against the bill if he doesn’t even know its stipulations? Either you are pregnant, or you aren’t. There’s no in-between, people.

(By the way, in case you were wondering, there is NO opt-out option. Either you get health insurance, or you pay a $695 annual fine. There are exceptions for low-income citizens. We would like to know, however, if the annual fee is more than the health insurance plan itself. That would create some problems, no?)

Anyway, we digress.

Fattah also showed up (more than fashionably late), and accused Corbett’s actions of being politically motivated.

“I don’t think Corbett has any argument, I think it’s a fatally deficient legal matter. And now, what they want to do is argue against people being getting covered. So, I think we’ll see him in court. The beauty of our country is that the courthouse doors are open to anyone, including a misinformed attorney general,” he says.

But isn't Corbett completely within his jurisdiction to challenge the bill? He's our attorney general. He challeges stuff for a living.

“Mandating people to get it is perfectly reasonable,” he says. “It’s just another program like Social Security or Medicare, which works through the tax system, so there’s no serious Constitutional argument against it. It’s totally fallacious.”

Democrats are trying to make Corbett own up because Corbett’s motives probably center on the future of his political career. But, hey, let’s be real. They’re probably doing it for the sake of their own careers, too.